About IAICU

For more than 50 years, Iowa’s independent, non-profit colleges and universities have worked together to enhance the quality of educational opportunities available to Iowa students. Since 1962, the Iowa Association of Independent Colleges and Universities (IAICU) has advocated for 24 member institutions ranging in enrollment from 500 to more than 6,000.

These Iowa private colleges, made up of both church-affiliated and non-sectarian non-profit liberal arts and professional institutions, have created a rich heritage of high quality independent education that started in 1839, seven years before Iowa became a state.

The IAICU works on behalf of its members to:

Inform students and their families about the quality and affordability of an education at Iowa private colleges and universities.

Inform policy makers at the state and federal level about the critical role of its member institutions as part of the entire post-secondary educational sector.